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Shea O’Connell
During my PhD I developed predictive models for a urine-based test for prostate cancer, robust machine-learning pipelines for automated & reproducible biomarker discovery in multi-omic prostate cancer studies, and collaborated on R packages that let you make award-winning posters.
I am currently searching for a data science position where I can make an impact with data and bring change to people’s lives. I am keenly interested in helping others understand and explore their data from start to finish from experiment design & data collection through to machine learning and dynamic visualistions.
Education & Employment
PhD Clinical Data Science
Norwich Medical School
University of East Anglia
2020 - 2017
- “Developing non-invasive tests for prostate cancer using machine learning and urine”
- I was recruited following a large, multinational study to analyse multi-omic data collected from 1,200 patients aiming to identify promising biomarke panels for prostate cancer and design future validation studies.
- One of my biggest successes was developing a reproducible machine-learning framework for biodiscovery. Developed entirely in R, implementing random forests and resampling-based methods, the framework takes raw data from experiments, performs preprocessing, feature selection and model training to produce production-ready predictive models and figures/metrics for deployment.
- This framework was successfully deployed, and I used it to develop three diagnostic predictive models that are now in various stages of clinical validation, generating both publications and intellectual property in the process.
- I had the opportunity for outreach multiple times throughout my PhD, as an invited speaker for Movember’s 2019 Campaign Launch event along with other local fundraising groups and charities to share our groups work and explain the research problems we work through.
- During this time I also served as chair of the Postgraduate Student’s Forum and as the student representative on the university’s Executive Committee.
Associate Tutor
Norwich Medical School
University of East Anglia
2019 - 2017
- Ran tutorials on critical appraisal of research for 3rd year medical students.
- Facilitated discussion amongst their peers on the merits of differing study designs for clinical problems
- Taught lessons on confounding and accounting or blocking for it.
- Covered very basic statistical and probabilistic premises they may encounter in clinical practice.
Senior Research Assistant
Queens Medical Research Institute
University of Edinburgh
2017 - 2016
- Independently designed and analysed cell culture experiments to identify potential links between eicosanoids and nanoparticle-induced cardiovascular disease.
- Data analysis formed a primary part of the role, ranging from traditional statistical analyses through to more novel image analysis work.
- As part of this I worked to develop an automated image analysis pipeline for the quanification of artherosclerotic plaques from animal studies.
Cardiovascular Research Technician
Queens Medical Research Institute
University of Edinburgh
2016 - 2015
- Investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of diesel exhaust nanoparticulates on the mammalian cardiovascular system
- This formed a work package in the large, EU-funded NanoMILE project, amongst over 20 collaborating partners
- My responsibilities ranged from data collection and experiment planning through to interpretation of, and writing up results.
BSc (Hons) Applied Marine Biology
School of Life Sciences
Heriot-Watt University
2015 - 2011
- “The role of HSP70 in the immune response of the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, following exposure to single-walled carbon nanotubes”
- Designed and set up experiments to test the impact of carbon nanotubes on a keystone ecological species.
Medical Laboratory Intern
Quintiles
N/A
2015 - 2013
- Secured an internship with the clinical research organisation, Quintiles, to process and analyse blood samples from a large number of clinical trials across Europe and the Middle East
- My main duties were to process whole blood and bone marrow samples to isolate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and perform the analysis and preparation of PBMC isolations before reporting the relevant data to trial sponsors in a timely manner
- I undertook structured courses covering GLPs, working in a regulated environment and quality assurance amongst others during my time here
Commercial Diver & Chandlery Manager
Schull, Ireland
University of Michigan
2012 - 2009
- Primarily a customer facing role, I provided expert nautical, mechanical and local advice in addition to overseeing day to day operation of the chandlery and ad-hoc harbourmaster roles.
- The commerical diving aspect was performed solo in difficult, stressful conditions and mostly consisted of mooring maintenance, search and recovery and boat repair.
- As we also offered a boat delivery service I delivered yachts to customers, planning multi-day voyages to account for weather, tides and shipping restrictions.
Training and Skills
Dementia Platforms UK Datathon
University of East Anglia
DPUK
2019
- Invited to take part in DPUK’s 3-day datathon, hosting dementia research data on their platform.
- Given access to raw data from several large studys and given free reign to form and test hypotheses as part of a diverse team
- Identified interesting links between self-reported childhood adversity and dementia later in life.
- This has now been submitted as a research proposal by members in the team as a research project.
Media Interview Training
University of East Anglia
N/A
2019
- Selected for intensive broadcast media training as one of my publications received international coverage
- Involved preparing lay-summaries and preparing for both live and pre-recorded interviews with mock scenarios using actual broadcast journalists.
Peer Reviewer for:
University of East Anglia
N/A
N/A
- BJUI
- International Journal of Men’s Health
- DNA & Cell Biology
Other Publications
Methodology for the at-home collection of urine samples for prostate cancer detection
Martyn Webb et al.
BioTechniques
2019
PAR4 (Protease-Activated Receptor 4) antagonism with BMS-986120 inhibits human ex vivo thrombus
Simon Wilson et al.
Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology
2018
The effect of zirconium doping of cerium dioxide nanoparticles on pulmonary and cardiovascular toxicity and biodistribution in mice after inhalation
Susan Dekkers et al.
Nanotoxicology
2017
Protein corona formation in bronchoalveolar fluid enhances diesel exhaust nanoparticle uptake and pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages
Catherine Shaw et al.
Nanotoxicology
2016
Cardiovascular health effects of oral and pulmonary exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes in ApoE-deficient mice
Daniel Christopherson et al.
Toxicology
2016
Awards and Interests
Roche FutureXHealthcare Scientific Excellence Award Finalist
Roche Pharmaceuticals
N/A
2019
- Submitted work produced during PhD, envisioning digital future of healthcare for prostate cancer patients.
- Took part in a one-day BarCamp un-conference with other finalists and learned a lot about what other people are doing in the digital healthcare world
- Also attended the FutureXHealthcare conference, again being exposed to the non-academic side of healthcare which was very interesting
Maia Strachan Prize
Heriot-Watt University
N/A
2015
- Awarded for best research project of 2015 cohort
Martin Wilkinson Marine Biology Award
Heriot-Watt University
N/A
2015
- Awarded for best examination performance of 2015
Cycling
UK
N/A
N/A
- I am a keen amateur cyclist and race across a few disciplines including off-road with varying success
- I am currently Road Captain of the UEA Cycling Club, coordinating training and racing at collegiate and regional levels.
References
Prof. Colin Cooper,
Dean of Research and Cancer Genetics Lead
N/A
+44 (0) 1603 592246